“Understood. I’ll send my route as soon as I end the call.”
“Stay watchful. Ivan’s son is nowhere to be found.”
“I’m focused on one thing. Killing every bastard involved.”
“We’ll see. I’ll see you at home later in the morning.”
“Good deal.”
Somehow, I managed to send coordinates, taking a single deep breath after completing the task.
As soon as I placed the phone on the dashboard, I sensed Sleeping Beauty stirring next to me. Her yawn was huge, adorable if you asked me.
Time passed, the silence as jarring as any noise.
With a quick glance, I was able to see when she first opened her eyes. She jerked up seconds later. “Oh, my God. Where are they?” She swung her head from side to side, craning her neck as she tried to look over her shoulder, but the seatbelt was locked down tight.
“I haven’t seen them in a couple hours. Let’s hope we lost them.”
Sighing, the moment she shifted her legs, we both heard a crinkling sound. Leaning over, she pulled something into her hand.
“What is that?”
Her entire body began to tremble. “It’s a letter addressed to me. It’s from Danny. It must have been in the duffle all along.”
I had no right to ask her to open it and I sensed she was debating. She held the envelope in her fingers, pulling it closer to her face.
“Are you going to open it?”
“I honestly don’t know. What if he admits he was sent to kill you? What then?”
“But he didn’t.”
“But he tried on the night inside my house.”
Exhaling, I knew nothing I would say to her would dampen her concern. Who was I to try? “He was a damn good adversary, Fleur. Well trained. If he’d wanted to kill me, he wouldn’t have turned off a light, which issued a warning. He wouldn’t have selected a chair where he couldn’t see who came through the back door. Instead, he would have hidden in the shadows, attacking when we first walked in. But he didn’t.”
“If you’re trying to make me feel any better, I’m not certain you can.” After a few seconds, she folded the letter, gently placing the envelope on the dashboard. Why she was torturing herself by keeping it in front of her was very private.
“I’m telling you the truth.”
As she always did when thinking about him, she rubbed the necklace. “I appreciate the effort.” With her arms folded, she turned her head toward the passenger window. “Maybe I want to think of him the way he was as a boy.”
“Just a piece of advice. My guess is he was an amazing man. Just a little lost. That’s why he wanted to protect you as he did all those years ago. Never forget that side of him, the one who loved you.”
“You know, for a grumpy guy you can be a softie.”
“Don’t spread that around, little flower. My reputation won’t be able to stand it.”
She laughed, a sound damn good to hear, and squeezed my arm, even shifting closer as if she’d forgive me for being such a fucking dick. Her gasp occurred a split second before a flash came from the left.
A goddamned vehicle almost rammed us. What the fuck?
Not again.
I pressed down on the accelerator, pushing the Blazer to her limits.
“Why can’t they leave us alone?” she wailed.
